Hi there! My name is Jenny and I'm a senior at Dartmouth studying biology and quantitative social science. On campus, I also work as a communications intern for the Admissions Office, tutor local high school students through Health Access for All, and mentor freshmen in the Great Issues Scholars LLC. My hobbies include reading (especially dystopian and historical fiction) and embroidering, which I only recently picked up. I hope you enjoy my blog!
I looked forward to this class every week, partly because of the professor and partly due to the content. We read books on a wide variety of topics, ranging from privilege and how it affects our interactions with others to restaurant kitchens and the hierarchies inherent in surgical residencies.
Biol13 is structured so that you have to work as a group on difficult class problems and even on some exams, which was novel to me and pushed me to really understand the material. This class inspired me to pursue research (both off-campus and on-campus) related to genetics.
Although this class was daunting to me in the beginning, given that I had little to no experience in either Women's, Gender, and Sexuality or Art History, it was also one of the classes in which I became the most engaged in. For our final project, I investigated the history of allegories in Western art and why they were so often portrayed as women.
SummerOff Campus
I interned at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA under Dr. Livingston. I explored the mechanism by which BRCA1 acts as a tumor suppressor. It was really rewarding to be able to apply what I had learned in Biol13, including specific procedures and techniques we had been tested on, to a real-life laboratory setting.
This class is notorious for its difficulty, and I would not call it an easy class. Nonetheless, it was my favorite class because I loved Professor Jacobi, who has taught at Dartmouth for 22 years, and I appreciated learning mechanisms behind why certain reactions happen. Instead of rote memorization, this class relied on being able to predict the products of a reaction, a skill picked up from lots of practice.
Although this was an introductory class, Professor Craig made it more dynamic and interactive, with several visits to the Hood Museum of Art, ethnography labs, and weekly discussion posts. I learned about everything from the Gebusi culture and their rites of passage to the opioid epidemic. For my final paper, I conducted an ethnography studying the social dynamics that take place in Baker Lobby and how that relates to the exchange of capital.
Though I had taken four years of computer science before (mostly in middle school), I did not have a very good experience with coding prior to taking CS1. However, the professor was one of the best professors I have had, explaining jargon in understandable ways and even giving out chocolate bars to students who answered the most difficult questions she would ask in class. I was certain that there was no way I would be able to create the lab assignments (such as a revolving solar system animation and map of Dartmouth that calculated the shortest possible route between two points), but she enabled all of us to through exercises, short assignments, and exams.
I took this class for a distributive requirement and ended up loving it. Each student was assigned a day to present on a certain topic - mine being patriarchy. I decided to analyze relationships in Crazy Rich Asians through a lens of the patriarchal bargain. We explored transgender issues, the history of feminism, gender identity, and so much more. Would highly recommend!
As someone who didn't know the rules to pretty much any sport, I tentatively signed up for this class. However, the professors made it clear that everyone had a different sports background, so I never felt at a disadvantage. We used Markov chains to predict winners of tennis matches, analyzed field goals kicks using logit models, and listened to guest speakers from a variety of industries.
WinterOff Campus
I spent the winter at the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health, studying epidemiology and global health. I was first involved on a project using data surveillance and social media to model Ebola outbreaks in the DRC, but as soon as the COVID-19 outbreak started, I transitioned to that. I was even able to publish my first paper!
SpringOff Campus
I was planning to study in Rome for the term and practice my basic Italian skills, but unfortunately the program was canceled. Instead of taking classes, I decided to continue working at my winter internship at NIH. Some of the research I conducted involved analyzing data on excess mortality as a method of estimating the true burden of COVID-19.
“Hey! Do you want to grab dinner at Foco tonight?”
Chances are, you have no clue what that means. I was in that same boat when I originally got to Dartmouth. One of the things that you gather as a freshman is that Dartmouth students really do have their own language. From studying in “blobby” to “flitzing” that cute person in your class, there seems to be a made-up word for everything.
Yogurt, fruit, and granola is a combination that never goes wrong.
But back to Foco. Foco is the buffet-like dining hall on-campus, officially known as the Class of ’53 Commons. I actually got in an argument with a friend last week because I believed it was nicknamed “Foco” for “food court” but she thought it was for “Fifty-Three Commons.” We never figured it out, but maybe by the time we graduate, we will have cracked that mystery.
All freshmen are on the 20 meal plan during their freshman fall, which essentially means that they have 20 meal swipes to use per week. A meal swipe can get you into Foco or be used for its equivalent value at other dining halls. After that first term, a lot of students change to other meal plans that give more “DBA” or dining dollars, and fewer meal swipes. For example, I am currently on a meal plan that gives me five meal swipes per term, but a much more significant amount of dining dollars, which allows more flexibility in terms of where I can eat.
Foco toast means you choose from at least twenty spreads, toppings, and ways to satisfy your craving.
But although I disliked Foco by the end of my first term, it was probably because I was just sick of it since I went so much. Now, I love the selection it provides. Whether you’re in the mood for an omelet full of fresh vegetables, toast with almond butter and chia seeds (my favorite), or pretty much any other food even tangentially related to breakfast, Foco will have it. And that’s simply for breakfast! For lunch and dinner, they have a station for vegetarians that is always my go-to for sweet potatoes and vegetables. The grill has chicken and fish, and we can’t ignore the soft-serve machines and infamous Foco cookies.
But beyond being a dining hall, Foco also puts on a few unique nights each term, centered around a theme. This winter, they had a “One” event that brought Hanover restaurants in, each of whom served one signature dish. This was a way for local restaurants to endorse their businesses to students on campus. Last week, they held “An Evening in Italy,” complete with live music, cheese plates, gelato, and so much more food. There was even a Photo Booth (talk about when in Rome…)! Although during these special Foco dinners, the place is usually crowded with students, the lines are usually worth the wait.
Now that you know a little more about the dining halls at Dartmouth, the next time you visit, you can ask the nearest student to point you to Foco. Don’t forget to grab a cookie!
But at the end of the day, when people ask me what my favorite Dartmouth memories are, I'm always thinking about the place. Ice skating, pink sunsets, riverbanks, or canoeing? That's my highlight reel.
In a world where proper social distancing is so important, Novack Café has fulfilled a unique desire for current on-campus students; it's a place to study, hang out with friends, and grab a snack—all while staying COVID safe.
The last week of October was especially ~spooky~ as I was able to find more time than usual to enjoy my weekend with friends and the small-town-charm of Hanover.
While the student body at the College may be relatively small, students here recognize that their vote can hold a lot of weight in New Hampshire, a classic swing state.
After walking around campus all day in eye-catching attire, we headed to a Murder Mystery night hosted by Phi Tau (a fraternity) in one of the tents scattered around campus.
My personal visit to Dartmouth was a huge factor in my decision to apply, so in honor of Week 7, I hope this blog post can virtually illustrate some of what Dartmouth has to offer in seven images – worth 7,000 words!
As a member of multiple performance groups on campus, I thought I'd give you a bit of background info on the opportunities here and discuss what we've been up to!
Yogurt, fruit, and granola is a combination that never goes wrong.
Foco toast means you choose from at least twenty spreads, toppings, and ways to satisfy your craving. 
